Painting Family:
The De Brays
Master Painters of 17th Century Holland
Artistic talent is a gift that is sometimes genetically determined and transmitted from one generation to another. The De Bray family is an excellent example of this. The foundations for their achievements were laid down by their father Salomon, who gave them an artistic education in his highly organised workshop leaving them in both artistic and intellectually good stead.
14th March - 8 June 2008

Lecture on the Exhibition by Ian Dejardin: listen to the audio podcast here »

		Salomon de Bray A biblical heroine looks at out the viewer with a penetrating gaze. This painting shows Jael after the murder of her husband and not as usually shown by other artists who depict the most gruesome moment of the story.
		Salomon de Bray Shepherd with a staff, 1635 Using predominantly brown tints and dark backgrond, light hits the young shepherd bringing to life his face, hands and neck showing Salomon de Bray's ability to experiment with light and tone.
		Jan de Bray Banquet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, 1652 This is a family portrait of the de Bray's playing the parts of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Jan de Bray shows real warmth between Salomon (Mark Anthony) and his wife Anna Westerbaen (Cleopatra) while being surrounded by numerous family members.
		Jan de Bray Caring for children at the Orphanage in Haarlem 1663 From left to right; Jan de Bray tells the story of the orphans of Haarlem. From the arrival of a boy taking off his torn and battered old clothes, you can watch the progression of children being redressed, fed and watered and finally housed.
		Jan de Bray Portrait of Abraham Casteleijn and Margarieta van Bancken, 1663 The careful balanced and execution of this lively composition makes this double portrait one of Jan de Bray's most stylish paintings.
		Dirk de Bray Flower still life with poet's narcissi, crown anemonies and columbine, 1674 Flowers and insects populate this painting, there is a hoverfly buzzing happily above one of the narcissi and a very small, delicate spider drops down into the picture while butterflies enjoy the spectacle of the blooms.
		Joseph de Bray In praise of Pekelharingh 1656 Joseph de Bray demonstrates his mastery of oil paint at an extremely high level using various textures such as oily fish, creamy butter and the hard surface of glass and porcelain while including a poem by his uncle Jacob Westerbaen.
		Jan de Bray The governors of the Haarlem Guild of St Luke, 1675 Jan de Bray painted these figures from the Guild 'from life' and they are life size. When he made this group portrait he was a warden along with his brother Dirck, the only two remaining brothers after the plague.